PAWTUCKET – When Travis Shaw saw he wasn’t in the Portland Sea Dogs’ lineup on Monday morning, he figured he was getting a day off.

PAWTUCKET – When Travis Shaw saw he wasn’t in the Portland Sea Dogs’ lineup on Monday morning, he figured he was getting a day off.

The first baseman could probably use the rest. In his past 10 games he’s batting .324 (11-for-24) with four home runs and seven RBI. But a break was the last thing Shaw received. Instead, Portland manager Billy McMillon informed him he was being promoted to Triple-A.

Shaw was then given a rental car and made the 90-minute trek from the Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, in Manchester, N.H., to Pawtucket and was in the PawSox lineup, batting fifth, on Monday night against Gwinnett.

Every second of the drive up interstate 93 and 95 was worth it for the 24-year-old.

“It was definitely worth it to get out of there,” Shaw said.

Shaw has nothing against Portland, but after getting promoted to Double-A, in 2012, Pawtucket has always been his goal.

“I’ve been on a mission just to show that I can hit at Double-A,” Shaw said. “There have always been those questions, for about a year and a half, that I couldn’t hit at that level consistently… I feel I’m in a good place mentally, physically, so I’m ready to go.”

Standing 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Shaw’s always had power potential, but said he got “caught up in the profile” of the first-base position.

Last season, he hit only .221 to go along with 16 home runs. Instead of focusing on making contact, he tried to hit home runs and his numbers suffered. Shaw changed his approach in the Arizona Fall League last year and he produced, hitting .361, with five home runs.

That success continued with Portland. In 47 games this season, he batted .305 with 11 home runs.

“This year, I was just mainly trying to be as balanced as a hitter that I possibly could and the power numbers have been there,” Shaw said. “I feel like when I’m going good, it is up the middle and home runs will still come.”

Shaw said he won’t veer from his approach at the plate and hopes to continue his success with in Pawtucket. On Monday, he went 1-for-3 in his Triple-A debut.

“It’s been a process for him but we’ve always loved his ability,” PawSox manager Kevin Boles said. “He’s an impact bat form the left side, plays a quality first base… He’s done a lot of things well. We’re very excited for him.”

Wright on the way back

Steven Wright took a step toward joining the PawSox again after making a rehab start with Portland on Monday.

The knuckleballer started the season on the 60-day disabled list after suffering a sports hernia in December. He went five innings, gave up five hits, allowed two earned runs and struck out four to earn the win in the Sea Dogs 6-3 victory over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.